It comes that time of year again when I’m juggling a few aspects of my life. Full-time student (summer classes!) and, very briefly, full-time work. Granted, I am doing office work for a few weeks, so I’m blessed with the ability to sit in an air-conditioned environment with a desk, a computer, and a office-mate who shares chocolate. Most of the people that I work with are aware of my Blythe hobby, it’s because I’ve previously covered my cubicle wall with Blythe photographs, and postcards, as well as bringing in dolls themselves. But it’s been a while since I’ve worked (read: full-time student), but my course load is low enough, and I’m in need of some income, that I’m attempting to balance my life:

Full-time (distance-education) classes + full-time work + dedicating time to other projects.

While there’s only so many hours in a day, and everyone gets the same twenty-four, I’ve found myself dedicating what seems to be less time sleeping and more doing just about everything else. Short of looking myself up at a caffeinated IV drip, I’m taking power naps on public transit and getting my energy where I can (hello, snacks in the afternoon!). And since I’m only temporarily working, I’m not going to be completely covering my desk with dolls and doll paraphernalia, although I am tempted. I don’t have a cubicle wall to tack photos onto this summer, but I do have a desk, and dolls sit pretty well on desks! I don’t think my office-mate will mind too much, despite the fact that I’m making his office “entirely too feminine” just with my mere presence.

Ways I’ve though of incorporating dolls into my (very temporary) work space include:

• Changing my desktop image to one of a Blythe
• Bringing in a doll on a daily basis to have at my desk
• Knit for dollies on my lunch break (therefore, I must have a dolly model)
• Change my office-mate’s desktop image to that one of a Blythe (erm, probably not this one…)

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word selfie is an early 21st century informal word that is defined as:

A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

– Oxford Dictionary

And as far as social media goes, applications and websites like Facebook, Flickr and Instagram definitely count. Many people engage in the process of taking selfies. Some people as a lark, some people to show off their new outfit or purchases. Whatever your reasons for taking a selfie, maybe it’s time that Blythe started getting in on this fad? After all, we share photos of Blythes everywhere, we enjoy taking photos of them and sometimes the photos end up being somewhat blurry, at an odd angle or even mostly cropping someone out. I know that before I got a smartphone with a front-facing camera I did that all. the. time. Even with the little circle that was described as being a “mirror”, intended use to help with self-photography, it was a difficult task to master. No excuses now since there are such things as front-facing cameras though, but I digress, sometimes dolls are just really bad at holding the cell phone in place. Maybe it has to do with the lack of Licca arms in my house, but they’re all pretty bad at it.

Does this photo make my head look big?

As my courses wind to an end for the term, I start to think about summer (and yes, I am aware that it is May). Sure, I have summer classes that will probably make me curse the format of distance/online classes that are mandatory for my program, but isn’t that what school is all about? Making students grind their teeth? But on a more serious note, what am I going to be doing this summer in regards to Blythe?

Firstly: working on BlytheLife! I have lots of plans for upcoming posts, notably Blythe On A Budget posts, some DIYs in the future, perhaps some free patterns, more interviews, and, of course, giveaways! As my course load goes down, I will have some more time to devote to writing, which makes me immensely happy because Blythe is one of my favourite topics to go on and on about, too bad some people I know offline don’t think that Blythes are as fascinating of a topic.

Next I will be creating a wardrobe for Kitty Brighton. As previously stated, the poor thing doesn’t have many clothes and it’s starting to be really pitiful. She’s not nearly as demanding as Sophie is, but just as whiny. I’m surprised I made it this far without breaking down and just buying everything she could possibly need off of Etsy. Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for my bank account, I do have several pattern books with items that just might fit her fairly well. I’ve read that Odeco and Nikki patterns should fit Middie, so this is good news for Brighton!

As August comes nearer, I’m planning my trip to Seattle! I look forward to meeting people who share in my love for Blythe. As the day nears, I’ll be blogging about wardrobe planning for the dolls, and who will be the lucky few that will be going to BlytheCon with me. Chances are, very familiar dolls will be going with me. I have plans for catching up with friends, both new and old, and lots of shopping to do! I’ve been fairly restrained so far this year in terms of buying dolly things, so I’m looking forward to getting some new goodies for the girls.

And lastly, I will sewing my way into a wardrobe for the Blythes as well. I have so many Doll Coordinate Recipe books, that it’s such a shame that I haven’t been using them to their full potential just yet. I plan on sewing new pieces for my dolls to both further my sewing skills and to increase their wardrobe without completely breaking the bank. We’ll have to see how successful I am at it though, hopefully it goes okay!

What are your upcoming summer plans?

The Middie and the Petites don’t get nearly as much camera time here as their big sister counterparts! Pocket-friendly and adorable, here’s a little bit of love for the smaller dolls today!

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I wanted to share some recent photos that I took at a recent meet – just sharing some happy today.

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